July 30, 2023
Centennial Field (Capacity: 4,415)
Burlington, VT
Vermont Lake Monsters vs Nashua Silver Knights
Final Score: 2 – 1
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Ending up in Burlington on this Sunday was a long journey as rain-cancelled games in Massachusetts had me changing plans. I was happy for this detour as the city and ballpark were great places to visit. Despite a population of just 45,000, Burlington is the largest city in Vermont. This area in the northern part of the state is quite scenic as Burlington is on a hill next to Lake Champlain. There is still a free-spirit vibe around town and the area is popular with visitors. Professional baseball in the city was on and off until a team arrived in 1994 and became affiliated with the Montreal Expos. They won their only league championship in 1996. After a decade together, when the Expos moved to Washington, this Single-A squad turned into the Vermont Lake Monsters. That’s certainly a much better name as it played on the lore of what lurked in nearby Lake Champlain. The team became affiliated with Oakland in 2011, but sadly they were cut from the NY-Penn League during the restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021. Thankfully, the Lake Monsters found a home in the Futures League, a summer-collegiate wood bat outfit in New England made up of several teams that have had the same fate at some point in their past. Not much has changed as Vermont is doing well in the league and they continue play at their long-time home of Centennial Field. This current version of the stadium debuted in 1922 and thanks to recent renovations, it is a gem for watching the nation’s pastime.
Prestige Ranking: 4 out of 5
Location
Burlington is defined by Church Street, a downtown pedestrian mall that makes for an enjoyable walk on a summer day. The sights, shops and eats are top notch. Given nearby Lake Champlain and the not-too distant mountains, recreational opportunities are a plenty. Beyond that, there is ECHO, a science center right on the lake. Centennial Field is distanced from the best of Burlington as downtown is 1.5 miles away, while the pretty campus of the University of Vermont is three-quarters of a mile to the west. The Field is indeed on campus property, it’s just more in an area closer to houses and woods. There is a small sandwich shop (Kampus Kitchen) near the entry to the stadium grounds.
Location Ranking: 6.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
It will take some time to reach Northern Vermont given how far the region is from pretty much any metropolitan area (even a small one). I-89 is the lone interstate in the region and connections through New England make that a generally easy ride. From New York or other points south, you’ll need I-87 and then a good amount of time on Vermont’s country roads. At least the countryside on that drive is very scenic. Getting to the stadium is simple enough, but the poor parking situation means that you may not be driving there. Three very small lots next to the stadium only have space for maybe 300 cars (and during my visit, construction further limited that significantly). Thus, many use the Trinity Campus to park, where there are multiple small lots and you have cars making their own grassy spots as well. That’s not ideal and the walk to the stadium from here is nearly 10 minutes. If all of that fills up, the last option is to park at the University of Vermont’s Gutterson Fieldhouse, where a shuttle bus will bring fans to and from the game. It’s not an ideal parking situation, but to the Lake Monsters’ credit, they lay out this information very well on their website.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5 out of 8
Exterior
Fans enter into an open space that is between a separate box office building and the ballpark. The exterior look to the stadium happens while walking around the concourse and that somewhat diminishes it. The building is a semi-circle with a lower white wall and green support beams that hold up the roof. You can see the underbelly of the seating bowl and with that being wood, it gives appreciation for the age of the stadium.
Exterior Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Concourse
The Lake Monsters make the most of what they have, but it is still a negative that the concourse is essentially an outdoor space behind the ballpark. Out here, you’ll see a mix of food stands and other entertainment as the day game I attended featured a face painter and a DJ. Space to maneuver is adequate, despite lines that can get long. Bathroom access isn’t great as there are only a few spots. Where they are located is unique as they are under the seating bowl, right by the opening to enter the seating bowl (where tall people have to duck under an overhang). The Lake Monsters use of space beyond the seating bowl is great, as the right field pavilion (accessed through a green carpeted narrow corridor) features tables, cornhole, a bar and a kids play area. On the other side is a picnic area.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
There are lots of places to get food at Centennial Park and each spot offers a nice array of choices. The main stands have everything you would normally expect, along with things like a Cheesesteak, Garden Salad, Veggie Burger and Boneless Wings. Seeing Poutine available gave me Canadian vibes, which makes sense given the proximity to the border here and their long-time affiliation with the Expos. A Taco Stand and a Fried Food stand looked good, but most impressive was the trailer that had their own outdoor pizza oven! The oven was made for them as it sports team colors (plus a nod to the Expos) and makes a heckuva pizza. In terms of beer….this is Burlington and my expectations were high. They delivered and at the forefront is “Lake Monster Light”, brewed for the team by local makers Zero Gravity. Other local beers on tap include Queen City, von Trapp and Fiddlehead.
Food Ranking: 6 out of 8
Interior
Centennial Field is a historic, yet modern ballpark that is a great place to watch a game thanks to some relatively recent renovations. It starts with a pretty good grandstand as a roof covers half of the seating (the four sections behind home plate). If you look up, you’ll see a wood ceiling even though the base of the stands are concrete. Support beams get in the way as the nostalgia quickly becomes annoying if you sit in the wrong seat with a pole in the way of a base or a batter/pitcher. I love the pitch of the stands as each row goes high up, giving a nice perspective of the field. This gets cancelled out a little bit by having soooo much foul territory, thus pushing the seating bowl far from the actual infield. Individual seats are all green and comfortable. That green color scheme is very fitting, but I wish that they would paint over the yellow walls and stair fronts. It gives the park a University of Vermont vibe, even though their baseball team was cut in 2009. With Lake Monsters’ owners now controlling the stadium, a little paint job to blue accents seems obvious. A cool feature are the wooden aisle seats under the grandstand, which are original and you’ll even spot the UVM logo embroidered on the side. Down at field level, there are a couple rows of seats that truly give a field level view experience. Box suites are creatively set-up down the right-field line and they are a great way of showing how even older parks can create a “luxury” experience. In the outfield are some trees and also the back of the stands from adjacent soccer stadium. The front of these stands are now covered up as UVM moved to a different part of campus for soccer. Overall, I really liked watching a game in this ballpark.
Interior Ranking: 10 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard is actually on the back of the old press box of the soccer stands sitting in left field. They pasted six ad boards on it and in the middle is a video screen and a line score. The numbers were fine to see, but every time I took a picture, it looked like some were missing. Video had nice clarity and it was only used for commercials and on-field contests. No replays.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
Near the main entrance is a Vermont Historical Marker that commemorates the longevity of the field and the famous players who have played on it. In the same well-landscaped area is a granite block that is for the Sports Community Hall of Fame. Too bad the honors only went to people between 2002 and 2007. I really liked what the Lake Monsters did on the walls around the stadium as each one has some sort of large banner related to the team, stadium or history of baseball around the area. Lastly, a couple smaller banners on the scoreboard denote league championships, including one back to the NYPL days.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Parking is free unless you want to grab an early spot very close. Tickets are $9 – $10. Concession prices are comparatively ok, a little cheaper than MiLB and a little more expensive for the Futures League ($3.75 Hot Dog, $8 Cheeseburger, $2.50 bottled water, $6 – $8 for a beer).
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
This was a good crowd for a Sunday Afternoon game and the Lake Monsters have led the Futures League in attendance each season they have played in the league. The numbers are pretty similar to where the team was at when they were part of the Single-A, NY-Penn League. Our game got moved an hour earlier as part of a doubleheader and while there was a healthy showing early on, about 50% of the attendance filtered in through the later innings. I’d say community interest in the team is certainly there and the media coverage for the Lake Monsters is decent as well. When Vermont was in the deciding championship game last year, a crowd of 2,937 was announced.
Fan Support Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
I’ve learned through the years that Summer-Collegiate Baseball brings a more attentive audience and better atmosphere than what Minor League Baseball does. That was the case at Centennial Field with the little things recognized. Whether it was a nice applause for a strikeout or a little recognition for a great changeup, the crowd responded throughout the game (though there was still “ooooing” at every crack of the bat even an obvious flyout). Cheering becomes quite loud thanks to the roof and I love that aspect of this park as I got to experience that a couple times during the game. Overall, it’s a pleasant place to watch baseball, especially given that music/sound effects aren’t over the top and operators sprinkle in a little organ every once in awhile.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9 out of 14
Other Stuff
How did I get here? Well, I planned on going to a Saturday Night game in Lynn, MA but it got rained out. I still figured I could go to the make-up doubleheader there on Sunday, but the stupid North Shore Navigators cancelled both games because they were just eliminated from the playoffs. Come on! So, I decided to drive 3 hours from my hotel in Woburn, MA to Burlington for a 4 PM doubleheader. Thankfully, the game only took 1 hour and 48 minutes as that allowed me to make it back to my New Jersey home before Midnight. All of that and it was still worth it……You may see in other places that Burlington’s Centennial Field opened in 1906. Baseball has been played at that site since that time, however the current grandstand was erected in 1922…..Around the concourse were stations that looked like hand sanitizer, but they actually were for sunscreen. Nice idea!…..Speakers protrude out along the stairs of the ends of the stadium. Found that interesting……Champ is a great mascot. He/She is entertaining through the game and you can tell has some mascot skills. Nice look too. It was Champ’s Birthday when I attended and the team had a few things planned.
Game
It was an impressive performance by Vermont’s Evan Maloney who gave up 5 hits and 1 run in 6 innings pitched. At the plate, the Lake Monsters score both runs by an error and that was enough to hold for a 2-1 win.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
